Musings on how big a bike you really need

[realmc26]

I went to the Melbourne Motorcycle show a week or so ago.

Getting up close to a fully kitted out BMW 1200 for the first time I was astounded how huge this beast was.
Lisa Thomas and her husband from "Two ride the world" fame had their bikes there as well (unfortunately missed their talk) and again thought how the hell do you get these monstrosity's around the world without constant hassles associated with the sheer size and weight of the things.

I have been kicking around this site for a couple of years and had decided that for my trip I wanted to travel light, using a small/medium sized motorcycle not unlike those available anywhere in the world in common use. I did not want to look like a spaceman riding a machine that was beyond the imagination of 90% of the planet.

Of course each to their own. I have read many threads advocating big bikes, small bikes etc etc but a common thread I keep reading by those that have been there and done that is that they would do it next time with a smaller machine.
Just wondering what percentage of overlanders are actually buying these behemoths for their big trips and would they do it again?


Cheers,

James

[mark manley]

I bought a new BMW R80GS in 1991 because I thought it was the only bike to travel on and 160,000 miles later it has proved to be a good, reliable, long lasting machine including some long trips, UK to Oz, South America and trans-Africa, but all of these trips could have just as easily been done on something smaller. Having done some cycle touring I have realised that travelling more slowly brings its own advantages and have just bought a Honda XR 125 which I may well take on my next trip which I hope will be to Central Asia next summer.

I have enjoyed travelling on the 80GS, which is 50kg lighter than an 1150, but am looking forward to riding something more managable and cheaper to run which I think will bring a different experience to my trip.

The jury is still out on which is better but I suspect the answer will be inconclusive with pros and cons on either side.

[spooky]

a bike in the 600cc class will do nicely, not to heavy to handle, not to flimsy on the long run and still very robust, easy to store away, doesn't show up for to much, fuel consumption is ok, very easy to customise and to work on too if needed, no fancy ABS or other electronic crap that going to suffer.

Don't know about the GS type battle ships, but with my 30Lt ADV-tank on my LC4 from 2002, I can cover about 550Km if I take it steady, can easily ride all day and have plenty of grunt and comfort (if you can call a KTM comfortable) but well yeah the low weight of about 145Kg plus me and 35Kg of luggage on it is all it's needed to go virtually everywhere

Now I don't want to declare the old LC4 the perfect bike for long trips, even if this old tackle can cope with it, but actually every bike starting with 400cc up to let's say 650cc will do nicely and is proven by many travellers to be the sort of perfect size engine to be happy with.
And yeah depending on your travelling style a 250cc and it's low fuel consumption will do very well and can be a superior bike compare to many big tractor's regarding there low profile and easier blending in to the local traffic.

[normw]

Elsewhere I posted a summary of my experience with a Kawasaki KLX250s during a ride of several thousand km. in the Yukon and Alaska this past summer. My usual ride, a 750 cc. ZR7-S stayed home for that experimental trip.

My conclusion was that the economic virtues of a bike of this size (well, at least of the KLX250s) for serious travelling are a tad oversold. Price wise (in Canada) it does not cost that much less than a KLR 650. And although, as you might expect, the 250 is extremely fuel efficient to start, after you load it up with tools and luggage, attach a decent size wind screen, stash the absolutely necessary 10 extra litres of gas (tiny fuel tank) and start moving at real highway speeds, the fuel efficiency drops precipitously into the range of nothing special. My impression is that a small engine working very hard can be less efficient than a larger one loafing along.

Had I purchased and ridden a KLR 650 instead I strongly suspect the trip would have cost me no more than it did on the 250. And a KLR has a more comfortable seat.

Of course the KLX weighs about 100 lb. less than the 650 and there is an agility/fun factor which I thoroughly enjoyed. The KLX also felt safer to me than a larger bike simply because it seemed more controllable in all circumstances.

So some of these things are not quite what they initially appear.

Good luck.

Norm

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by normw

. My impression is that a small engine working very hard can be less efficient than a larger one loafing along.

Norm

Not to mention the life of a small capacity engine when howling down the highway for hours on end at maximum revs (keep checking the oil level at least).
The whole point of a small engined bike is to slow down and enjoy more of the trip with less emphasis on the destination?
"Low and slow" - lower in the saddle than a lot of the behemoths currently in production and, definitely, slower in the journey (check out some threads about riding bicycles).

But, yea, the BMW 1200GS is about half of all the sales of BMW bikes at present and next year, with the water cooling jacket version, BMW will expect to continue with those sales figures; at the recent bike show here in the UK the price remains TBC. Right now, they are discounting, a bit, on the price of the current model which is totally logical. However, up until recently it has not been possible to negotiate over the asking price of the bike (since 2004 when they first came to the show rooms) simply because the sales staff could sell every bike delivered from the factory in Berlin.

[BlackDogZulu]

I'm reminded of the spoof advertising slogan: "Eat sh*t; ten million flies can't be wrong!" In other words, just because something sells well, it doesn't mean it's good - or in this case, appropriate to the task. I'm not knocking the 1200, which seems to me a very fine vehicle, but I wonder how much of that huge sales figure is people who have persuaded themselves that anything less just isn't enough.

For me, I have recently downsized from litre+ bikes to a nice 650 single for my riding, and I'm all the happier for it. No long trips yet, but I can't see it being any less capable than something twice the size. I recently did a 450-mile round trip over two days, and it coped very well. It took me slightly longer because I wasn't doing the fast bits at 90+, but that's part of ther reason I changed.

I read something recently (might even have been on here) that "on a trip in a car, you see more than you can take in; on a bicycle or walking, you take in more than you can see." I think that's true of bigger/faster vs smaller/slower bikes too.

[ta-rider]

Hi,

Originally Posted by realmc26

Just wondering what percentage of overlanders are actually buying these behemoths for their big trips and would they do it again?

I think people who have no idea about traveling only watched the movie "long way round" bay this expensive bikes. Other people rather spend the money on the trip. I went around Africa on my 500 Euro Transalp and aroud Southamerica on a 125ccm Honda:

Adventure Motorbike trip around Southamerica: Chile and Argentina part 1

[skierd]

The bike matters a whole lot less than most people think. Get something you're comfortable sitting on, ignore the self-imposed limitations on displacement, and take whatever floats your boat.

Most people thought I was crazy to move from Maryland to Alaska on a WR250R, carrying everything I owned on it, but for me it was liberating. No room for clutter, easy to handle on less than ideal terrain, good fuel mileage, superb reliability. Only time I wished to have more displacement was crossing the Great Plains running in to 35-50mph gusting headwinds, but really what I was wishing for then was a car...

[John Downs]

I was thinking today about how I would have probably turned back this morning when I got to this jeep trail if I had been on a big BMW like I used to ride in Guatemala:



While I enjoy the light weight, fuel effieciency and ability to filter through third world cities with the pizza delivery bikes that a 250 Super Sherpa allows me, most people carry more stuff and ride bigger bikes. Nothing wrong with that.

The worse the roads, the nicer the people. You get to meet a lot of nice people on a little dirt bike.

Kindest regards,
John Downs

[ta-rider]

Hi,

Originally Posted by John Downs

The worse the roads, the nicer the people. You get to meet a lot of nice people on a little dirt bike.

Thats so true. If you travel on a small bike sometimes even the local people own a simular bike and invite you to stay but they will treet you like money on legs and start begging if you arrive on a fancy big bike...

Travel save

[tmotten]

I'm a recent convert of the WRR which is my first 250 and it still doesn't stop to amaze me. It's less vibey than my BM 650 and heaps more fun to ride. Looking back all my trips I reckon it would have been more fun on it. Less is most definitely more.

[xsPain]

Originally Posted by skierd

The bike matters a whole lot less than most people think. Get something you're comfortable sitting on, ignore the self-imposed limitations on displacement, and take whatever floats your boat.

Completely agree. I like little bikes. I travel more slowly, see more, meet more people, have more fun when I am on the 250 instead of a bigger bike. I will also admit most of the advantages of the smaller bike as far as MPG and such disappear if you have to be somewhere in a hurry (though I never got less than 60mpg unless there was something wrong).

It's way better to bike a motorcycle you like to travel on, and then go traveling than worry over what bike is right, spend lots of money, and never get around to leaving.

[Threewheelbonnie]

Originally Posted by ta-rider

Hi,


I think people who have no idea about traveling only watched the movie "long way round" bay this expensive bikes. Other people rather spend the money on the trip. I went around Africa on my 500 Euro Transalp and aroud Southamerica on a 125ccm Honda:

Adventure Motorbike trip around Southamerica: Chile and Argentina part 1

They have their place. Those of us who at most get three weeks off work need to cover the boring bits that are just like home but with different ASAP. When you only have one bike for a daily commute on a UK motorway, 7 HP isn't enough. Dry sumps and oil changes every 12 hours are no use when you plan to go to work for a week, head to Russia and back and go to work the first week back.

I've been down as low as 500cc/20 HP (Enfield) which barely works and as high as 1085cc/90 HP which is a waste unless you ride on a track as well but 15 years ago you could cruise at three figure speeds on UK roads. For RTW with no time limits I probably would go well below 650cc/70HP but with limits and non-long distance use thrown in the Wee/F800/Tiger XC/Tenere class suits. They could make a better 400cc version, but splitting the usage 40/60 instead of 60/40 isn't going to happen or is going to give a higher lifetime cost as the design won't be shared with the weekend warriors.

Andy

[blacktiger]

Originally Posted by realmc26

I went to the Melbourne Motorcycle show a week or so ago.

Getting up close to a fully kitted out BMW 1200 for the first time I was astounded how huge this beast was.
Lisa Thomas and her husband from "Two ride the world" fame had their bikes there as well (unfortunately missed their talk) and again thought how the hell do you get these monstrosity's around the world without constant hassles associated with the sheer size and weight of the things.

I agree with you. The current crop of 1200cc bikes are just OTT IMO.
BUT, I came to the conclusion years ago that any bike is a compromise. In a fantasy world we'd have a "morphing" button so that we could have a Goldwing for the boring motorways, an R1 for the twisty tarmac, a WR250 for the dirt passes etc etc. But we can't do that so you go with what you have or what you can afford or what you think will be suitable but there'll always be a situation where that bike isn't the best for the job.
I think the 800 class is a good compromise which is why I bought a Triumph 800XC. It's turning out to be a great bike.

[BaldBaBoon]

I suppose I have been downsizing in bikes for years.

When I was into my sportsbikes and streetfighters I moved from a 1216cc down to a 600cc.Same with my dual sport bikes, I used to have a Bmwr 1150 GS adventure which was a cracking bike, but got written off in a smash....bought an old Bmwr 100gspd ( still owned,now retired ) and currently have a bmw g650gs.

My bike is used for every single day of the year for commuting, pleasure, work and touring so I will not go any smaller than a 650/600. Its economical and has enough grunt to get me to where I need to be.

Very tempted to get a new Husky Terra though.